Independent Spirit Award for Best Film

The Independent Spirit Award for Best Film (or Best Feature) is one of the annual Independent Spirit Awards, presented to recognize the best in independent filmmaking, it was first awarded in 1985 with Martin Scorsese's film After Hours being the first recipient of the award.

Independent Spirit Award for Best Film
Awarded for	Best Independent Film
Country	United States
Presented by	Film Independent
First award	1985
Currently held by	Anora (2024)
Website	filmindependent.org

Criteria

In order to be considered as an independent film and therefore being eligible to this category, nomination committees base their decision on four criteria, "uniqueness of vision, original, provocative subject matter, percentage of financing from independent sources and economy of means"; the latter refers to a budget ceiling of $22.5 million.^[1] In 2022, Film Independent increased the budget cap for eligible films to $30 million to account for the rising cost of production.^[2]

In the following lists, the first titles listed are winners. These are also in bold and in blue background; those not in bold are nominees.

Winners and nominees

1980s

Year	Winner	Distributing company(s)	Director(s)
1985 [3]	After Hours	The Geffen Film Company/Warner Bros.	Martin Scorsese
	Blood Simple	Circle Films	Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
	Smooth Talk	Goldcrest Films	Joyce Chopra
	The Trip to Bountiful	Island Pictures	Peter Masterson
1986	Platoon	Orion Pictures	Oliver Stone
	Blue Velvet	De Laurentiis Entertainment Group	David Lynch
	Down by Law	Island Pictures	Jim Jarmusch
	On Valentine's Day	Angelika Films	Ken Harrison
	Salvador	Hemdale Film Corporation	Oliver Stone
	Stand by Me	Columbia Pictures	Rob Reiner
1987	River's Edge	Island Pictures	Tim Hunter
	The Big Easy	Columbia Pictures	Jim McBride
	The Dead	Vestron Pictures	John Huston
	Matewan	Cinecom Pictures	John Sayles
	Swimming to Cambodia	Cinecom Pictures	Jonathan Demme
	Tough Guys Don't Dance	The Cannon Group, Inc.	Norman Mailer
1988	Stand and Deliver	American Playhouse/Warner Bros.	Ramon Menendez
	Hairspray	New Line Cinema	John Waters
	Patti Rocks	FilmDallas Pictures	David Burton Morris
	The Thin Blue Line	Miramax Films	Errol Morris
	Torch Song Trilogy	New Line Cinema	Paul Bogart
1989	Sex, Lies, and Videotape	Miramax Films	Steven Soderbergh
	Drugstore Cowboy	International Video Entertainment	Gus Van Sant
	Heat and Sunlight	Silverlight Pictures	Rob Nilsson
	Mystery Train	Orion Classics	Jim Jarmusch
	True Love	United Artists	Nancy Savoca

1990s

Year	Winner	Distributing company(s)	Director(s)
1990	The Grifters	Miramax Films	Stephen Frears
	Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer	Greycat Films	John McNaughton
	The Plot Against Harry	New Yorker Films	Michael Roemer
	Pump Up the Volume	New Line Cinema	Allan Moyle
	To Sleep with Anger	The Samuel Goldwyn Company	Charles Burnett
1991	Rambling Rose	New Line/Seven Arts	Martha Coolidge
	City of Hope	The Samuel Goldwyn Company	John Sayles
	Hangin' with the Homeboys	New Line Cinema	Joseph Vasquez
	Homicide	Triumph Films	David Mamet
	My Own Private Idaho	Fine Line Features	Gus Van Sant
1992	The Player	Fine Line Features	Robert Altman
	Bad Lieutenant	Aries Films	Abel Ferrara
	Gas Food Lodging	Cineville	Allison Anders
	Mississippi Masala	The Samuel Goldwyn Company	Mira Nair
	One False Move	I.R.S. Releasing	Carl Franklin
1993	Short Cuts	Fine Line Features	Robert Altman
	Equinox	IRS Media	Alan Rudolph
	Much Ado About Nothing	The Samuel Goldwyn Company	Kenneth Branagh
	Ruby in Paradise	October Films	Victor Nuñez
	The Wedding Banquet	The Samuel Goldwyn Company	Ang Lee
1994	Pulp Fiction	Miramax Films	Quentin Tarantino
	Bullets over Broadway	Miramax Films	Woody Allen
	Eat Drink Man Woman	The Samuel Goldwyn Company	Ang Lee
	Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle	Fine Line Features	Alan Rudolph
	Wes Craven's New Nightmare	New Line Cinema	Wes Craven
1995	Leaving Las Vegas	United Artists	Mike Figgis
	The Addiction	October Films	Abel Ferrara
	Living in Oblivion	Sony Pictures Classics	Tom DiCillo
	Safe	Sony Pictures Classics	Todd Haynes
	The Secret of Roan Inish	Sony Pictures Classics	John Sayles
1996	Fargo	Gramercy Pictures	Joel Coen
	Dead Man	Miramax Films	Jim Jarmusch
	The Funeral	October Films	Abel Ferrara
	Lone Star	Sony Pictures Classics	John Sayles
	Welcome to the Dollhouse	Sony Pictures Classics	Todd Solondz
1997	The Apostle	October Films	Robert Duvall
	Chasing Amy	Miramax Films	Kevin Smith
	Loved	MDP Worldwide	Erin Dignam
	Ulee's Gold	Orion Pictures	Victor Nuñez
	Waiting for Guffman	Sony Pictures Classics	Christopher Guest
1998	Gods and Monsters	Lionsgate Films	Bill Condon
	Affliction	Lionsgate Films	Paul Schrader
	Claire Dolan	New Yorker Films	Lodge Kerrigan
	A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries	October Films	James Ivory
	Velvet Goldmine	Miramax Films	Todd Haynes
1999 [4][5]	Election	Paramount Pictures/MTV Films	Alexander Payne
	Cookie's Fortune	October Films	Robert Altman
	The Limey	Artisan Entertainment	Steven Soderbergh
	The Straight Story	Walt Disney Pictures	David Lynch
	Sugar Town	October Films/USA Films	Allison Anders and Kurt Voss

2000s

Year	Winner	Distributing company(s)	Director(s)
2000 [6]	Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon	Sony Pictures Classics	Ang Lee
	Before Night Falls	Fine Line Features	Julian Schnabel
	George Washington	ContentFilm International	David Gordon Green
	Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai	Artisan Entertainment	Jim Jarmusch
	Requiem for a Dream		Darren Aronofsky
2001 [7]	Memento	Newmarket Films	Christopher Nolan
	Hedwig and the Angry Inch	Fine Line Features	John Cameron Mitchell
	L.I.E.	New Yorker Films	Michael Cuesta
	Things Behind the Sun	Showtime Networks	Allison Anders
	Waking Life	Fox Searchlight	Richard Linklater
2002 [8]	Far from Heaven	Focus Features	Todd Haynes
	The Good Girl	Fox Searchlight	Miguel Arteta
	Lovely & Amazing	Lionsgate Films	Nicole Holofcener
	Secretary		Steven Shainberg
	Tully	Small Planet Pictures	Hilary Birmingham
2003 [9]	Lost in Translation	Focus Features	Sofia Coppola
	American Splendor	Fine Line Features/HBO Films	Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini
	In America	Fox Searchlight	Jim Sheridan
	Raising Victor Vargas	Samuel Goldwyn Films	Peter Sollett
	Shattered Glass	Lions Gate Films	Billy Ray
2004 [10]	Sideways	Fox Searchlight	Alexander Payne
	Baadasssss!	Sony Pictures Classics	Mario Van Peebles
	Kinsey	Fox Searchlight	Bill Condon
	Maria Full of Grace	Fine Line Features	Joshua Marston
	Primer	THINKFilm	Shane Carruth
2005 [11]	Brokeback Mountain	Focus Features	Ang Lee
	Capote	Sony Pictures Classics	Bennett Miller
	Good Night, and Good Luck	Warner Independent Pictures	George Clooney
	The Squid and the Whale	Samuel Goldwyn Films	Noah Baumbach
	The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada	Sony Pictures Classics	Tommy Lee Jones
2006 [12]	Little Miss Sunshine	Fox Searchlight	Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris
	American Gun	IFC Films	Aric Avelino
	The Dead Girl	First Look International	Karen Moncrieff
	Half Nelson	THINKFilm	Ryan Fleck
	Pan's Labyrinth	Picturehouse	Guillermo del Toro
2007 [13]	Juno	Fox Searchlight	Jason Reitman
	The Diving Bell and the Butterfly	Miramax Films	Julian Schnabel
	I'm Not There	The Weinstein Company	Todd Haynes
	A Mighty Heart	Paramount Vantage	Michael Winterbottom
	Paranoid Park	IFC Films	Gus Van Sant
2008 [14]	The Wrestler	Fox Searchlight	Darren Aronofsky
	Ballast	Alluvial Film Company	Lance Hammer
	Frozen River	Sony Pictures Classics	Courtney Hunt
	Rachel Getting Married		Jonathan Demme
	Wendy and Lucy	Oscilloscope Pictures	Kelly Reichardt
2009 [15]	Precious	Lionsgate	Lee Daniels
	(500) Days of Summer	Fox Searchlight	Marc Webb
	Amreeka	National Geographic Entertainment	Cherien Dabis
	The Last Station	Sony Pictures Classics	Michael Hoffman
	Sin Nombre	Focus Features	Cary Fukunaga

2010s

Year	Winner	Distributing company(s)	Director(s)
2010 [16]	Black Swan	Fox Searchlight	Darren Aronofsky
	127 Hours	Fox Searchlight	Danny Boyle
	Greenberg	Focus Features	Noah Baumbach
	The Kids Are All Right		Lisa Cholodenko
	Winter's Bone	Roadside Attractions	Debra Granik
2011 [17]	The Artist	The Weinstein Company	Michel Hazanavicius
	50/50	Summit Entertainment	Jonathan Levine
	Beginners	Focus Features	Mike Mills
	The Descendants	Fox Searchlight	Alexander Payne
	Drive	FilmDistrict	Nicolas Winding Refn
	Take Shelter	Sony Pictures Classics	Jeff Nichols
2012 [18]	Silver Linings Playbook	The Weinstein Company	David O. Russell
	Beasts of the Southern Wild	Fox Searchlight	Benh Zeitlin
	Bernie	Millennium Entertainment	Richard Linklater
	Keep the Lights On	Music Box Films	Ira Sachs
	Moonrise Kingdom	Focus Features	Wes Anderson
2013 [19]	12 Years a Slave	Fox Searchlight	Steve McQueen
	All Is Lost	Lionsgate	J. C. Chandor
	Frances Ha	IFC Films	Noah Baumbach
	Inside Llewyn Davis	CBS Films	Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
	Nebraska	Paramount Vantage	Alexander Payne
2014 [20]	Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)	Fox Searchlight	Alejandro G. Iñárritu
	Boyhood	IFC Films	Richard Linklater
	Love Is Strange	Sony Pictures Classics	Ira Sachs
	Selma	Paramount Pictures	Ava DuVernay
	Whiplash	Sony Pictures Classics	Damien Chazelle
2015 [21]	Spotlight	Open Road Films	Tom McCarthy
	Anomalisa	Paramount Pictures	Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson
	Beasts of No Nation	Bleecker Street/Netflix	Cary Joji Fukunaga
	Carol	The Weinstein Company	Todd Haynes
	Tangerine	Magnolia Pictures	Sean Baker
2016 [22]	Moonlight	A24	Barry Jenkins
	American Honey	A24	Andrea Arnold
	Chronic	Monument Releasing	Michel Franco
	Jackie	Fox Searchlight	Pablo Larraín
	Manchester by the Sea	Amazon Studios/Roadside Attractions	Kenneth Lonergan
2017 [23]	Get Out	Universal Pictures/Blumhouse Productions	Jordan Peele
	Call Me by Your Name	Sony Pictures Classics	Luca Guadagnino
	The Florida Project	A24	Sean Baker
	Lady Bird		Greta Gerwig
	The Rider	Sony Pictures Classics	Chloé Zhao
2018 [24]	If Beale Street Could Talk	Annapurna Pictures	Barry Jenkins
	Eighth Grade	A24	Bo Burnham
	First Reformed		Paul Schrader
	Leave No Trace	Bleecker Street	Debra Granik
	You Were Never Really Here	Amazon Studios	Lynne Ramsay
2019 [25]	The Farewell	A24	Lulu Wang
	A Hidden Life	Fox Searchlight	Terrence Malick
	Clemency	Neon	Chinonye Chukwu
	Marriage Story	Netflix	Noah Baumbach
	Uncut Gems	A24	Benny Safdie and Joshua Safdie

2020s

Year	Winner	Distributing company(s)	Director(s)
2020 [26][27]	Nomadland	Searchlight Pictures	Chloé Zhao
	First Cow	A24	Kelly Reichardt
	Ma Rainey's Black Bottom	Netflix	George C. Wolfe
	Minari	A24	Lee Isaac Chung
	Never Rarely Sometimes Always	Focus Features	Eliza Hittman
2021 [28]	The Lost Daughter	Netflix	Maggie Gyllenhaal
	A Chiara	Neon	Jonas Carpignano
	C’mon C’mon	A24	Mike Mills
	The Novice	IFC Films	Lauren Hadaway
	Zola	A24	Janicza Bravo
2022 [29]	Everything Everywhere All at Once	A24	Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert
	Bones and All	MGM/United Artists Releasing	Luca Guadagnino
	Our Father, the Devil	Resolve Media	Ellie Foumbi
	Tár	Focus Features	Todd Field
	Women Talking	MGM/United Artists Releasing	Sarah Polley
2023 [30]	Past Lives	A24	Celine Song
	All of Us Strangers	Searchlight Pictures	Andrew Haigh
	American Fiction	Orion Pictures/Amazon MGM Studios	Cord Jefferson
	May December	Netflix	Todd Haynes
	Passages	Mubi	Ira Sachs
	We Grown Now	Sony Pictures Classics	Minhal Baig
2024 [31][32]	Anora	Neon	Sean Baker
	I Saw the TV Glow	A24	Jane Schoenbrun
	Nickel Boys	Orion Pictures/Amazon MGM Studios	RaMell Ross
	Sing Sing	A24	Greg Kwedar
	The Substance	Mubi	Coralie Fargeat

Distributors with most wins and nominations (2 or more)

• Columbia/Sony Pictures Classics - 20 (one win)
• Fox Searchlight/Searchlight Pictures - 17 (eight wins)
• A24 - 14 (four wins)
• Universal/Focus Features - 13 (four wins)
• Miramax - 9 (three wins)
• Samuel Goldwyn - 8 (no wins)
• Fine Line Features - 7 (two wins)
• Lionsgate - 7 (two wins)
• October Films - 7 (one win)
• MGM/United Artists/Amazon - 6 (one win)
• New Line Cinema - 6 (one win)
• Netflix - 5 (one win)
• Paramount/Paramount Vantage - 5 (one win)
• IFC Films - 5 (no wins)
• The Weinstein Company - 4 (two wins)
• Orion Pictures - 4 (one win)
• Warner Bros/Warner Independent Films - 3 (two wins)
• Island Pictures - 3 (one win)
• Neon - 3 (one win)
• Artisan Entertainment - 3 (no wins)
• New Yorker Films - 3 (no wins)
• Bleecker Street - 2 (no wins)
• Mubi - 2 (no wins)